Convertible wheel type chair-bed



July 10, 1956 E. RANGER 2,753,920

CONVERTIBLE WHEEL TYPE CHAIR-BED Filed July 15, 1953 3 Sheet s-Sheet l July 10. 1956 E. RANGER 2,753,920

CONVERTIBLE WHEEL TYPE CHAIR-BED Filed July 15, 1953 I I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 f/f 7 wzflgiezza 7 Zia/25767 E 5 g Q July 10. 1956 E. RANGER 2,753,920

CONVERTIBLE WHEEL TYPE CHAIRBED Filed July 15, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 T 3; El 1 6 411 iii 4 199) 36a 4 CONVERTIBLE WHEEL TYPE CHAIR-BED Eu ene Ran er Outremont Quebec, Canada, assignor to The Robei-t lvlitchell Co: Limited, St. Laurent, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Application July 15, 1953, Serial No. 368,052

2 Claims. (Cl. 155-30) The present invention relates to improvements in wheeltype chairs and more particularly to the type of chairs which are convertible for transportation of a patient either in a sitting or a lying position.

A particular object of this invention is to provide a convertible chair comprising a back-supportlng member which is mounted intermediate its length for swinging movement about a fixed horizontal axis, a seat member pivoted at its rear end to the lower end of the backsupporting member to swing about a second horizontal axis and a mechanism, connected to the back-supporting member and to the seat member, which is operable to swing the back-supporting member about its fixed axis between upright and horizontal positions and to move the seat member from a lower horizontal position, when the back-supporting member is upright to an upper horizontal position in alignment with the back-supporting member w en the latter is horizontally disposed.

A particular feature of the back-supporting and seat members operating mechanism is that .it combines a tilting and a forward movement to the seat member as 1t s moved between the lower and upper horizontal positions during swinging movement of the back-supporting member. These combined movements of the back-supporting and seat members tend to provide ample support to both the back and thigh sections of a patient enabling him to be changed from a sitting to a lying position while in a completely relaxed condition. Then, too, a pat ent may be retained in any position between the upright sitting and horizontal positions with complete comfort and ease because of the continuous changes in the angular relationship between the back-supporting member and the seat member at any position between the upright and horizontal positions. These changes in the angular relationship of the back-supportlng-and seat members afford gradual distribution of the patients weight from the one member to the other without physical exertion on the part of the patient.

Another feature consists in the provision of a leg supporting member pivoted to the forward end of the seat member and operable by the aforesaid mechanism to swing the leg-supporting member from a vertical position to a horizontal position during movement of the backsupporting and seat members so that the leg-supporting member will be disposed in a common horizontal plane with the back-supporting and seat members when they are moved thereto.

A further feature of this invention consists in the provision of the back-supporting member with a backengaging frame section which is telescopically slidable relative to the back-supporting member in response to the aforesaid combined movement of the back-supporting member and the seat member. The particular advantage of this feature is that it eliminates friction between the back of the patient and the chair during movement of the patient from a sitting to a lying position and viceversa.

Still another feature consists in the convertibilityfrom a nited States Patent '0 vertical cross wall 20 chair to a table, in which the latter position is at a height of a standard hospital bed or table, whereby a patient may be transferred in a lying position from one to theother with facility and with a minimum amount of exertion to the patient. Then, too, a patient, when being transferred from a bed, may be moved in the apparatus to a sitting position or any restful inclined position for transportation in the chair according to the present invention.

A still further feature consists in the provision of an opening in the seat member and a suitable support for the chair side frames in a manner which permits of movement of the chair to a position straddling a toilet with the seat opening above the toilet bowl for the convenience of a patient. This particular feature eliminates the necessity of physical exertion to a patient normally encoun-. tered in transferring a patient from a bed or .a chair to a toilet. This feature also eliminates the necessity of a bed pan or other make-shift or temporary appliances, since, with the present apparatus, a patient may be moved from a bed in a horizontal position, eased to a sitting position through the action of the chair mechanism and then wheeled directly over a toilet by movement of the chair to a position straddling the toilet.

The above and other objects, advantages and features characteristic of this invention will be understood more readily from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. l is a perspective view of a chair frame embodying my invention, certain parts being broken away for sake of clarity.

Fig. 2 is a sectional .view of a chair embodying my invention and taken along the lines 2-2 of Fig. l but showing the movable sections of the chair in new positions.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the chair shown In Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view (enlarged) through :one side gramle of the chair and taken along the lines 4-4 of 1 Fig. 8 is a detail view of the winding drum shown in *ig.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the chair generally comprises spaced vertical side frames 5 and 6 fixed to front and rear cross-frames 7 and 8, a backck supporting member 19, a leg-supporting member 12, pivoted at one end to the forward end of seat member 11, .and a mechanism, here- Frames 5 and 6 are provided at their lower corners with caster mountings 17 into which are fitted casters 18.

The front cross frame 7 is formed of sheetmetal materlal which is shaped ri and a horizontal cross wall 21 ght angularly to provide at projecting rearwardly of cross wall 20. Vertical cross wall is provided with rearwardly extending side and top flanges 22 and 23. The top flange 23 is disposed between side flanges 22 and has a marginal extension 24 bent downwardly to lie between side flanges 22 so that the end edges of top flange 23 and extension 24 are butted against adjacent portions of side flanges 22 to reinforce the latter. The horizontal wall 21 has downwardly projecting side and rear flanges 25 and 26. The front cross frame 7 is secured to the opposing side frames 5 and 6 by bolts, rivets or the like, as indicated at 27. Suitable reinforcing (not shown) may be provided between the inner and outer walls 14 and 15 at the points where the cross frame 7 is secured to the side frames 5 and 6.

The rear cross frame 8 is bolted, as indicated at 28, to side frames 5 and 6 adjacent the upper and rear ends thereof. Cross frame 8 is located in this upper rear position with the lower extremity of the cross frame at a height sufficient to permit the chair to straddle a toilet with the seat portion of the chair directly over the toilet bowl when the back-supporting member is in its substantially upright position.

The back-supporting member 10 is positioned between the side frames 5 and 6 forwardly of the cross-frame 8, and includes outer and inner frames and 31. Frame 30 comprises a pair of laterally spaced angle bars having one flange 33 at right-angles to the side frames 5 and 6 and the other flange 34 extending forwardly from flange 33 along the edge thereof closest to an adjacent side frame. The angle bars of frame 30 are fixed in spaced relation at their lower extremities by means of downward extensions 35 (see Figs. 2 and 6) which are pivotally connected to the rear of seat member 11, and at their upper extremities by a handle member including a crossbar 36 fitted in the outer end of rearwardly extending brackets 37 having their inner ends secured to the flanges 34 of the angle bars. Frame 30 is pivotally connected intermediate its length to side frames 5 and 6 by horizontal pivot pins 38 (see Figs. 1, 3, 6 and 7) projecting inwardly from said side frames and bearing in the flanges 34 of said angle bars. Extensions 35 at the lower end of frame 30 are pivoted at 40 to rearward extensions 41 of seat 11.

Inner frame 31 of back-supporting member 10 is formed of angle bars two of which are laterally spaced with one flange 45 overlapping the outer surface of flange 33 of frame 30 and the other flange 46 extending rearwardly from flange 45 along the edge thereof remote from the adjacent side of frames 5 and 6. The laterally spaced angle bars of frame 31 are fixed in spaced relation to each other by upper and lower cross-bars 47 also being of angle formation and having one flange flush with the outer surfaces of flanges 45 and the other flange directed rearwardly from the outer side edge of the said first flange of bar 47 between flanges 46 of said laterally spaced bars. Angle brackets 50 are secured by one flange at spaced intervals along the inner surface of flanges 46 with the free flange of each bracket in spaced parallel relation to the inner surface of flanges 45 of frame 31 to provide guide tracks adapted to receive the free marglnal portion of the flange 33 of frame 30 to thereby interlock frames 30 and 31 for sliding movement of the latter relative to the former in the lengthwise direction thereof. A cushion 51 on a backing 52 is attached to frame 31 in any suitable manner.

The seat member 11 comprises a frame formed of angle bars along the side and front, including inwardly directed upper flanges 53 and downwardly directed flanges 54 from the outer edges of flanges 53. The rear ends of flanges 54 are braced apart by a cross brace 56 which is directed downwardly between flanges 54 and is inwardly offset from the rear terminal portions of flanges 54. Extensions 41, pivoted to the extensions back-supporting member frame 30, are continuations of 35 of the flanges 54 forming the side frames of seat member 11. A plate member 58, provided with a projecting flange 59 defining a central opening, is secured to the upper surface of the seat member frame so that the central opening provides a suitable passageway to an open toilet bowl when the chair is located thereover. A cushioned seat cover 61 is removably mountable on the seat to cover the central opening therein.

The seat member 11 and slidable frame 31 of backsupporting member 10 are connected by means of a lever 62 curved intermediate its length, as indicated at 63. One arm of lever 62 is pivoted at 64, a predetermined point along the length of the flange 46 of frame 31, and the other arm is pivoted at 65, a predetermined point along the length of the flange 54 on the side frame of seat member 11. The predetermined points 64 and 65 and the degree of bend at 63 of the lever 62 are such that upward sliding movement is imparted to frame 31 relative to frame 30 as the back-supporting member 10 is swung from its horizontal to its vertical position, and vice versa.

This sliding action of the back frame 31 greatly assists a patient in being moved from a lying to a sitting position as there is a tendency for the back of a patient to move relative to the back support during movement between the lying and sitting positions. With the sliding arrangement of the frame 31, the latter tends to follow the sliding movement of the patients back to thereby eliminate the discomforts normally encountered when the back of the patient must move relative to the backsupport in frictional contact therewith. Additionally, lever 62 serves to move the cushion 51 of the back-support from its position of .close proximity to the seat cushion 61 in the horizontal position to a position which allows free overlapping of the adjacent edges of said cushions in the upright position of the back-support cushion.

The leg-supporting member 12 constitutes a frame 67 of angle bars to which a cushioned member 68 is secured. A pair of plate members 69 are secured to the sides of frame 67 to project rearwardly therefrom. Plates 69 have forward extensions "/0 at the upper ends thereof which are pivoted at 71 to the forward end of the seat frame for swinging movement of leg-supporting member 12 relative to seat member 11 about a horizontal axis.

The back-supporting member 10 is provided at its opposite sides with a rearwardly and downwardly extending bracket 75 which is rigidly secured at its inner end to the side of frame 30 adjacent the base thereof. An actuating bar 76 has one end connected to a horizontal pivot 7'7 carried by the free lower end of bracket 75 and the other end connected to a horizontal pivot 78 carried by the lower rearward extremity of plate 69 of leg supporting member 12 on the corresponding side thereof. The actuating bar 76 is connected intermediate its length to the free end of a horizontal trunnion 80 carried by a movable block 81. Block 81 is mounted for sliding movement along an inclined guideway 82 which is arranged between the inner and outer walls 14 and 15 of side frames 5 and 6. The guideway 82 comprises an elongated channel-shaped member 83 disposed with its channel opening side secured against the inner surface of inner side wall 14 and its web portion secured against the inner surface of outer side wall 15. Member 83 is upwardly inclined from adjacent the lower rear end of the side frame to adjacent the upper front end thereof.

The inner wall 14 is provided with a narrow passage 84 for substantially the length of the channel guideway 82 through which trunnion 80 projects from block 81 for connection to actuating bar 76. An enlarged opening 85 is provided in inner wall 14 at the lower end of passage 84 through which block 81 is removably inserted in the guideway 82.

Block 81 is adapted to travel along the inclined guideway 82 with trunnion 80 riding along passage 84 to move actuating bar 76 in opposite directions along an inclined plane predetermined by said guideway. This action exerts a pressure on bracket75 through pivotal connection 77 to one end .of actuating bar 76 to thereby rotate the back supporting member about pivot pins 38. The rear of the seat member is also rotated about its pivotal connection at 40 to the lower end of back-supporting frame 30. The forward end of actuating bar 76 through its pivotal connection at 78 to plate v69 rotates the leg-supporting member 12 about its pivotal connection at 71 to the forward end of seat member 11. Additionally the forward end of seat member 11 is raised or lowered with the actuating bar 76 through the meditun of plate 69.

The block 81 in side frame 5 is moved along guideway 32 by cables 87 and 88. One end of cable 87 is secured to an adjustable anchoring pin 89, located within a winding drum 90 mounted in cross-frame .8. The cable passes through a slot 91 in the peripheral surface of the drum 90, is doubled back to lie across the upper surface of the drum along a guide groove provided therefor in the direction of side frame 5. The cable is then trained around a pulley 92, mounted in cross-frame 8 adjacent side frame 5 (see Figs. 1, 6, 7 and v8), down through a guide tube 93 in frame 5, and around a second pulley 94 in a block 95 at the lower end of guideway .82. Cable 87 then passes up guideway .82, along a longitudinal groove 96 in the bottom of block 81, and into a recess 97 in the block 81 where it is suitably anchored by enlarging the end of the cable within the recess, as indicated at 98.

Cable 88 is secured at one end to a second adjustable anchoring pin 99 within drum 90 and passes through slot 91, is doubled back in the opposite direction to cable 87 to lie across the under surface of the drum along a guide groove provided therefor. Cable 88 then extends toward side frame 5 and is trained around a pulley 100 mounted on a common axis with pulley 92 (see Figs. 1, 6, 7 and 8), down through a second guide tube 101 paralleling guide tube 93 in side frame 5 and then around a second pulley 102 in block 95. Cable 88 then passes upwardly through guideway 82, extending freely along a longitudinal groove 103 in the upper surface of block 81, over and around a third pulley 104 in a block 105 at the upper end of guideway 82. Cable 88 then returns through guideway 82, along lower groove 96 in block 81 and into a second recess 106 in block 81 adjacent recess 97 where the end of the cableis suitably anchored, as indicated at 107. Anchoring pins 89 and 99 are adjustable to take up the slack in cables 87 and 88.

The block 81 in side frame 6 is similarly moved along its guideway 82 by cables 87a and 88a. However, the arrangement of cables 87a and 88a on the drum 90 is the reverse of cables 87 and 88 for unidirectional movement of blocks 81 in the guideways 82 of each side frame 5 and 6 in response to rotation of winding drum 90 in one direction. Thus, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 8, cable 87a is secured to anchoring pin 891a, passes through slot 91a in drum 90, lies across the under surface of the drum in a groove provided therefor, extending toward side frame 6. Cable 8712 then follows a course, similar to that of cable 87, around a pulley corresponding to pulley 92, then around a pulley 94 in block 95, up guideway 82, to the under side of block 81 and is anchored to the block in the same manner as cable 87. Cable 88a is anchored to pin 99a of drum 90, passes through slot 91a, over the drum surface toward side frame 6, around a pulley 100, around a second pulley 102 in block 95, up guideway 82 through groove 103 in the upper surface of block 81, then around pulley 104 at the upper end of guideway 82 and back along the guideway to the under side of block 81 where it is anchored to the block in the same manner as cable 88.

The drum 90 is rotated through a worm gear drive, generally indicated at 110, through the medium of a crank and shaft 111 and 112 at either side thereof. Each 6 crank shaft 112 is independently releasably engageable with the worm gear shaft 113 through a spring biased sliding clutch mechanism generally indicated at 114.

In operation of the chair from the sitting position shown in full lines in Figs. 2 and 3 to a position such as shown in Fig. l or in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the drum 90 is rotated through the medium of one of the cranks 111. Rotation of drum 90 in one direction serves to wind in cables 88 and 88a and to pay out cables 87 and 87a, to thereby exert an upward pull of blocks 81 along guideways 82. Actuating bars 76, which are carried by blocks 81 along the fixed inclined plane determined by guideways 82, rotates back-supporting member 10 about pivot pins 38 through the medium of bracket 75, cansing the lower end of member 10 to be swung forwardly and upwardly. The rearward end of seat member 11 being pivoted at 40 to the lower end of back-supporting member 10, is moved forwardly and upwardly with the lower end of said back-supporting member 10. At the same time the forward ends of actuating bars 76 exert a lifting action to the forward end of seat 11 through their connection to plates 69. Because of the length of brackets 75, bars 76 will be tilted about their intermediate common axis afforded by trunnions to thereby upwardly incline the seat member 11 toward its forward end. The forward movements of bars 76 rotate plates 69 about their pivotal connections at 71 to seat member 11 to rotate the leg-supporting member 12 from the vertical to horizontal position. The upward lift and forward tilting of seat member 11 is maintained by reason of the vertical distance between the horizontal planes of the pivot points 71 and 78 to plates 69, the maximum vertical distance being attained when the said pivot points 71 and 78 are vertically aligned. However, when pivot point 78 passes beyond its vertical alignment with pivot point 71 the upward and forward movement of actuating bars 76 no longer exert a lifting action to the forward end of seat member 11, the action being confined to outward swinging movement of the leg-supporting member 12. This action tends to cause bars 76 to level off and to shorten the vertical distance between the horizontal planes of the pivot points 71 and 78 through the leverage action of brackets 75 with the result that the forward end of seat member 11 follows a downward arcuate path as the rear of the seat and the pivotally connected end of back-supporting member .10 continue to rise until the members 10, 11 and 12 are in the horizontal position shown in dotted line in Fig. 2.

During the above described pivotal and lifting movements of the members 10, 11 and 12, levers 62, which are pivoted at one end to seat 11 and at the other end to frame 31 of back-supporting member 19, exert sliding movement of said frame 31 relative to the complementary frame 30 of member 10. This sliding movement of frame 31 tends to follow movement of the back of a person occupying the chair with respect to the remainder of the back-supporting member 10 to thereby eliminate discomforts to the persons back.

Reverse movement of winding drum will tension cables 87 and 87a and release tension on cables 88 and 88a with a resultant reverse movement of the actuating bars 76 by means of blocks 81, and of members 10, 11 and 12 through the combined action of brackets 75 at one end of bars 76 and plates 69 at the other end of said bars. It will also be appreciated that the members 10,, 11 and 12 may be moved to and retained in any of the intermediate positions between that position shown in full line and the horizontal position shown in dotted outline shown in Fig. 2.

A chair according to the present invention has many uses about a hospital or convalescent home. In the horizontal position of the members 10, 11 and 12, it may be employed for transferring a patient from a hospital bed to, for example, an operating table with a minimum amount of disturbance to a patient. In this connection it will be apparent from the drawings that the members 10, 11 and 12, when in the horizontal position, are clear of the upper edges of the side frames and 6 so that there is no obstruction which would interfere in the transference of a patient from a bed or table to the chair apparatus.

Then too, a patient may be transferred from a bed to the chair while the members l0, l1 and 12 of the latter are in the horizontal position and then the patient may be eased to a sitting position or any intermediate position with a minimum amount of efiort on the part of the patient. This is facilitated both by the sliding of frame 31 of the back-supporting member 19 and the movements of the members It), 11 and 12 as previously described. In this latter connection it is desired to emphasize that each of these members continuously change their angular positions relative to one another and that the latter members 11 and 12 are also continuously moved either upwardly and forward or downwardly and rearward according to the direction of swinging movement of member 10. These movements of the members 10, 11 and 12 relative to one another, are in direct relation to the length of actuating bars 76, the distance from the intermediate fulcrum points 80 of bars 76 to the pivotal connections 77 with brackets 75 and the initial angle between bars 76 and brackets 75 on the one side, and the distance from said fulcrum points 80 to the pivotal connection 78 with plates 69 and the initial angle between bars 76 and a line between pivot points 78 and 71 of plates 69 on the other side of fulcrum 80, plus the degree of inclination of guideways 82, all of which are predetermined to co-ordinate the combined movement and angular relationship between the members 10, 11 and 12 during their travel to aiford the optimum support to a patient throughout movement of a patient between the lying and sitting positions.

Additionally the chair apparatus serves to facilitate the use of a toilet. The members 10, 11 and 12 are first elevated to a common horizontal plane, as above described. The seat cover is removed before the patient is placed on the apparatus which is then returned to its normal upright position so that it may be moved to straddle a toilet bowl, as previously described, with a minimum amount of effort to the patient. This is of particular value in the case of a patient with a heart condition where the physical exertion required to adopt a sitting position is often a severe strain on the heart muscles.

What i claim is:

l. A convertible chair of the character described comprising a normally vertical back-supporting member, means pivotally supporting said member intermediate its length for swinging movement about a fixed horizontal axis, a normally horizontal seat member having its rear edge pivotally connected to the lower edge of the backsupporting member, vertically inclining slide supporting guides located at opposite sides of the seat member and inclining upwardly and forwardly from a point below the seat member to a point substantially above the seat member, means supporting said guides in their inclined positions, slides arranged to travel along said guides and normally arranged in a position below said seat member, a pair of actuating bars, each having an intermediate portion thereof pivotally secured to one of said slides by a horizontal pivot, a pair of brackets inclining downwardly and rearwardly from the lower portion of said back-supporting member and having; their lower ends pivoted to rearwardly disposed ends of said actuating bars, and a connection between the forwardly disposed end ofeach actuating bar and the forward portion of the seat member comprising a connecting member pivotally connected to said actuating bar and said seat member by horizontal pivots lying in different vertical planes with the pivotal connection between the connecting member and the seat member disposed forwardly of the pivotal connection between the connecting member and the actuating bar.

2. A convertible chair of the character described comprising a back-supporting member normally disposed in a substantially vertical position, a seat member normally disposed in a substantially horizontal position extending forwardly from the lower portion of the back-supporting member, means pivotally connecting the rear portion of the seat member to the lower portion of the back-supporting member, side frames between which the seat and back-supporting members are disposed, said back-supporting member being intermediately pivoted to said side frames for swinging movement about a fixed horizontal axis, a pair of bracket members rigidly secured to the lower portion of the back supporting member and inclining downwardly and rearwardly therefrom, a pair of actuating bars having rearwardly disposed ends pivotally secured to the lower ends of said brackets, said bars normally'extending forwardly from said brackets below said seat member, a connection between the forwardly disposed end of each actuating bar and the forward portion of said seat member comprising a connecting member connected to the actuating bar and seat member by pivots normally located in different vertical planes with the pivot connection between the connecting member and the seat member normally disposed forwardly of the pivot connection between the connecting member and the actuating bar, and means pivotally connected to intermediate portions of said actuating bars and operable to move the said intermediate portions of said actuating bars along a predetermined plane inclining upwardly and forwardly from a point below to a point above the seat member when the latter is in its normal horizontal sitting position, said means for moving said actuating bar comprising a pair of movable blocks pivoted to intermediate portions of said actuating bars, said side members being provided with forwardly and upwardly inclined guideways in which said blocks are receivable for sliding movement'therealong, and pairs of cables extending through each of said guideways, the pair of cables in each guideway each having one end secured to the block therein, one cable being arranged to exert a pull on said block in one direction along said guideway and the other being arranged to exert a pull on said block in the other direction, a winding drum mounted intermediate said side frames, said pairs of cables having their opposite ends connected to said winding drum whereby rotation of said drum in a selected direction exerts tension on one of each of said pairs of cables to move said blocks unidirectionally along the guideways.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

